* American Idol Finale Recap

Taylor Hicks wins American Idol. Riots averted.

On the (Taylor Hicks) season finale of American Idol tonight (Taylor Hicks), there was a lot of suspense (Taylor Hicks) about who would be the next American Idol (Taylor Hicks). After some duets (Taylor Hicks), medleys (Taylor Hicks), group numbers (Taylor Hicks) and guest appearances from Prince and others, Ryan Seacrest (Taylor Hicks) told us that over 63 million votes (Taylor Hicks) had been cast yesterday (Taylor Hick), and with the tension so thick you could cut if with a knife (Taylor Hicks), the (Taylor Hicks) winner (Taylor Hicks) was (Taylor Hicks) finally (Taylor Hicks) revealed (Taylor Hicks) as (Taylor Hicks) Taylor (Taylor Hicks) Hicks.

If the Oscars took two hours to hand our each award, the Oscars show would last for several weeks. But this is American Idol, and like a pleasantly toxic gas, it can expand to fill the space it’s provided. The medleys, group numbers, and duets were mostly Cheese with a capital “C,” and based on how much pizza Americans consume, we love our cheese, thank you very much. There were definitely some low points during the evening’s festivities, such as an incoherent Meatloaf singing with Katharine, a stage-hogging Mary J. Blige singing with Elliott, and an inaudible Toni Braxton singing with Taylor. But we don’t need no stinking complaining about the low points! Did I mention the cheese?

I liked hearing Elliott and Mandisa easily fill the Kodak Theatre with their powerful voices (the other 3-through-12 finalists, not so much). And you gotta love a show that can bring David Hasslehoff to tears. I also enjoyed the surprise (to the Clay Aiken imitator) appearance of Clay Aiken, who should win an award for being a good sport. And then there was the surprise (to everyone, according to Ace) appearance and performance of Prince. The high points more than made up for the low points.

Personally (in addition to buying his CDs and seeing his concerts) I am looking forward to seeing Taylor Hicks do the doulbe-threat trick of hosting and singing on Saturday Night Live live, including, I hope, a sketch featuring Taylor with his Taylor impersonator. Taylor’s first album must be called Soul Patrol.

Why is America supporting Taylor Hicks? Because, as he said during his coronation song, he is living the American Dream. This is a show that can take someone with raw talent and turn them into a superstar. Do you remember how nervous Carrie Underwood was on stage during all of season four of American Idol? Imagine how Taylor Hicks will be one year from now. This is a huge opportunity for him, and he’ll make the most of it. There is a huge difference between finishing first and finishing second. Wait a month and do a search on Google for Taylor Hicks and for Katharine McPhee. Or do one now for Carrie Underwood and Bo Bice. The winner gets all the press and a recording contract, the runner-up gets a recording contract.

I’m considering formalizing my informal American Idol blogging contest next season. We’ll see. Let me know what you think. The final standings appear below. I’m surprised that nobody called me on my coin flip statistic. You can pick the bottom three by flipping a coin, but it would only be a 50% proposition in the round of six. I put it there for fun. It’s clear that DialIdol.com, Google Trends, and Zabasearch are forces to be reckoned with. But so is Jennifer. So don’t count out the human bloggers just yet. Stay tuned next year for American Idol VI: The Rise And Fall Of The Machines.